Greggs plans to reopen all of its 2000 shops by "early July" the bakery and snacks chain has announced.
The firm behind the steak bake and vegan sausage roll said it intends to have 800 shops open for takeaway customers on Thursday, 18 June.
This follows a trial of trading with social distancing and Covid safety measures at a small number of shops in the north-east of England since last month.
The firm has accelerated development of 'delivery' and 'click and collect' services, including 19 shops due to reopen this week.
But the company warned investors it could not predict the impact restrictions would have on trade and said it expected lower sales than normal across its 2,050 shops. It plans to restrict stock to "best sellers" and said some retail and manufacturing staff would remain on furlough for a while.
The brand said it had postponed the opening of most new shops.
Greggs customers can expect:
- Floor markings and signs to help maintain distancing
- Protective screens at counters
- PPE for staff
- More frequent, cleaning measures
- Availability of hand sanitiser
- Encouragement of contactless card payment
Greggs said it had informed landlords it plans to move to monthly rent payments from June, having made its full quarterly rent payment in March.
Chief executive Roger Whiteside said: "Looking forward, although great uncertainty remains, we are excited to be resuming our service for many customers this week.
"We are confident of our ability to adapt to market conditions in the short term while continuing to invest in the long-term growth of our business. I want to thank all of our 25,000 colleagues for their support in getting us to this point."
